First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler downgraded First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

First Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $55.50 on Monday. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.50 and a 12-month high of $62.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.43 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 19.24%. As a group, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $296,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,924. This trade represents a 19.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,142 shares of company stock worth $592,276. 1.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,722,000 after purchasing an additional 11,439 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in First Bancorp by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,012,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,661,000 after purchasing an additional 169,363 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 48.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,516,000 after purchasing an additional 429,769 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,892,000 after buying an additional 123,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in First Bancorp by 39.4% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 576,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,502,000 after buying an additional 163,026 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.